counterpoint English · revision 920

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkaʊntə(ɹ)ˌpɔɪnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The musical word is [[inh|enm|counterpoint]], [[bor|frm|contrepoint]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la-med|cantus contrapunctus|t=song pricked against]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|contrā|t=against]] and ''punctus'' “point, note”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) referring to notes of an accompaniment written over or under the notes of the melody.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) A separate word ''counterpoint'' “quilted coverlet” comes from Old French ''contrepointe'', an alteration of ''coute pointe'' “stitched quilt”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The art of singing an accompaniment to plainsong (before 1450 in Barnhart; mid-15th century in Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By 1530 the word named a melody added as an accompaniment to a given melody,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and by 1597 the art of combining melodies according to fixed rules.^(OED 1989) From the 1590s it also meant the opposite point in an argument, or an antithesis.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, “to compose in counterpoint”, dates from 1875,^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and the figurative sense “to set in contrast” from 1940.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The quilt word, a doublet of [[counterpane]], dates from 1423.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1423 – a quilted bedcover (separate word).^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1450 – singing an accompaniment.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1530 – a melody added to another.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1597 – the art of combining melodies.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1599 – the opposite point, an antithesis.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1940 – verb, to set in contrast.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(music)'' The technique of combining two or more independent melodic lines into a single harmonic texture; [[polyphony]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(music)'' A melody added above or below an existing melody; also, a composition using this technique.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A contrasting or complementary element, or the use of such contrast in a work of art.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To compose or arrange in counterpoint.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To set in contrast; to emphasize by juxtaposition.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[contrapuntal]]

+ * [[counterpane]]

+ * [[point]]

+ * [[polyphony]]

+ * [[harmony]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}